Hello, friends! I greet you as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 1:3: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I am writing to tell you about an amazing opportunity with which God has blessed me and has placed on my heart.
My specific role will be with the Soul Food Espresso community, a privately-owned café supported by a local church. (I will be residing with a host family from the church.) Soul Food’s primary focus is young mothers, particularly those with preschool children. I will be helping with operation of the café and childcare so that the long-term workers can have the freedom to have focused relationship building with the mothers and families. The spiritual response of the local people to anything resembling Christianity is usually withdrawal and hostility, which is completely different from my background with the Bible belt in the southern US. In preparation, I am learning how to express my faith in a way that doesn’t use “Christianese,” also known as terms that are “church buzz-words."
I have never been on an international mission trip, but this year I felt God pushing me to go. Because I graduated from the University of New Orleans in December 2011 and am not returning to school until fall 2012, I felt that this was a great time for me to serve God and go have an adventure. The International Mission Board (an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention) provided me with an opportunity to serve in Redwood Park, South Australia, Australia, a suburb of the coastal city of Adelaide. I will travel to the city of Sydney for orientation on May 28-30, 2012, and then I will be in Redwood Park until July 29th (at which time I will return to Sydney for a debriefing until August 1st). Because Australia is in the southern hemisphere, I will be there during the rainy wintertime—average temperatures are between 45-60 degrees Fahrenheit, usually with 5-12 rainy days each month. Because it’s a coastal city that rests on the Indian Ocean, it’s typically windy and temperate. Due to the location of this mission, one of my primary concerns is raising sufficient funds. To cover orientation/debriefing and my daily expenses, I need to raise $2184 (US). I also have to raise enough funds to pay for airfare and my traveler’s visa, which could be upwards of $1800. I have set a goal of $4100 (US) to take care of any other expenses that may occur while I am on my journey. I ask that you prayerfully consider a gift of financial support in order to make my trip possible.
I also am in great need of prayer support. This is a big step of faith that I am taking—it is requiring levels of sacrifice and trust that exceed anything I have ever experienced before. However, I am very excited about the opportunity that God has placed in front of me. Please pray for preparation (that everything would continue falling into place); for faith (that I would continually learn how to let God work for me and trust Him with all of the details); for the clarification of my passion for the Oceanic region of the world; and for my walk with Christ to be ever-deepening in trust and in joy. Regardless of your decision on monetary support to my mission, I earnestly ask that you please support me through prayer, the easiest but most important gift you could ever give.Thank you for your time. I'm so glad you are considering partnering with me in this new and thrilling opportunity, whether by financial or prayer support. I hope that my energy will be evident through this blog and that we can walk together this summer into what God has planned beforehand for me to do!
In Christ,
ASHLEY J. HUNTER
“Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” -- Isaiah 26:8
Hey, Ashley! We're keeping you in our prayers, and we're proud of you for embarking on this journey! Love, the Lanams.
ReplyDeleteOkay! Here we go!!!!
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